Created during WWII as an official training manual for the Fleet Torpedo School, this whopping 575+ page "pamphlet" contains everything you ever wanted to know about aircraft-launched torpedoes. Within its pages you'll find rare photographs and diagrams as well as informative text. This includes a brief history of the torpedo and a full rundown of the Mark 13, the first American torpedo to be designed solely for aircraft launch (although, they were also used aboard P.T. Boats). Chapters include: exercise heads and attachments, war head and attachments, air flask and midship section, reducing, superheating system and starting gear, propulsion mechanism, depth control mechanism, gyro mechanism including a description of Gyro Mark 12-1, adjustment and tests, and a discussion of loading, air trajectory and stabilizers. Originally restricted, this manual was declassified long ago. This high quality facsimile was created from a rare original. It presents the book in its entirety for the first time in 70 years.

Military logistics is a relatively new word to describe a very old practice; the supply, movement and maintenance of an armed force both in peace time and under operational conditions. Logistic considerations are generally built into battle plans at an early stage. Without logistics, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, aircraft are just numbers on a table of organization and equipment. Through this book an endeavor has been made to understand the logistics of People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. An introduction to the theory of supply chain management and logistics of foreign Armies is discussed. Today 'Revolution in Military Logistics' (RML) is taking place in the People's Liberation Army. An attempt has been made to study this evolution, development and rapid modernization of the People's Liberation Army logistics.

Sharpen your knowledge of swords with Kristen B. Neuschel as she takes you through a captivating 1,000 years of French and English history. Living by the Sword reveals that warrior culture, with the sword as its ultimate symbol, was deeply rooted in ritual long before the introduction of gunpowder weapons transformed the battlefield. Neuschel argues that objects have agency and that decoding their meaning involves seeing them in motion: bought, sold, exchanged, refurbished, written about, displayed, and used in ceremony. Drawing on evidence about swords (from wills, inventories, records of armories, and treasuries) in the possession of nobles and royalty, she explores the meanings people attached to them from the contexts in which they appeared. These environments included other prestige goods such as tapestries, jewels, and tableware-all used to construct and display status. Living by the Sword draws on an exciting diversity of sources from archaeology, military and social history, literature, and material culture studies to inspire students and educated lay readers (including collectors and reenactors) to stretch the boundaries of what they know as the "war and culture" genre.

Between the late 8th and late 11th century Viking warriors had a massive impact not just in northern Europe, but across a huge arc from the western Mediterranean round through northern Europe and the Baltic to the Middle East and Central Asia. Their success depended in part on their skills in battle, their unique sense of strategic mobility, and on the quality of their weapons and equipment. Written by an expert on early medieval weaponry, this book examines the weapons of the typical Viking warrior, dispels some of the myths of the popular image, such as double-headed axes, and considers the range of weapons that actually underpinned the Vikings' success including bows and arrows.

Drawing upon contemporary literary and historical accounts from the North Atlantic to the Arab world, surviving examples of weapons and armour, and practical experimentation and reconstructions by modern weapon-smiths and re-enactors, this study casts new light on how Viking weapons were made and used in battle.

The evolution of the battleship through centuries of war, told by a nautical expert and author of The Mighty Hood. During its reign from the sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth, the battleship was the most powerful weapon of war known to man. Strategically, it determined a war's outcome. Tactically, it dominated every sea battle. But at the Battle of Taranto in 1940 and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, carrier-borne aircraft made a decisive display of superiority over the once-mighty battleship. Thus World War II heralded the end of the era of The Great Ship. In The Great Ship, noted naval historian Ernle Bradford traces the evolution of battleships through centuries of conflict and innovation. Selecting one or two ships from each period, Bradford illustrates their use in action and the significant roles they played in the course of history.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1915 Edition.

Over 750 detailed, high-quality illustrations from rare 19th-century sources: suits of armor, chain mail, swords, helmets, knives, crossbows and other implements, along with scenes of battle, soldiers, horses, artillery and more. Especially suitable for projects requiring a medieval or old-fashioned flavor, these illustrations will fill a myriad of needs for battle-related graphic art.

From the jungles of Vietnam to the unforgiving deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq, one breed of soldier has achieved legendary status in the arena of combat -- the sniper. Their only mission: wait, watch, and when the target is in sight, put the...
Crosshairs on the Kill Zone
From the authors of the classic sniper chronicle "One Shot-One Kill" comes a new generation of true tales from some of the most expert and deadly marksmen in the world. Meet Adelbert Waldron II, whose 109 confirmed kills in Vietnam made him the most successful sniper in American military history, and Tom "Moose" Ferran, who coined the term "Fetch ," whereupon the infantry would retrieve the sniper's dead quarry. Also included are stories from snipers in Beirut, the Bosnian conflict, and both wars with Iraq -- including the feat of Sergeants Joshua Hamblin and Owen Mulder, who took down thirty-two enemy soldiers in a single day outside Baghdad in 2003.
The military sniper has evolved into one of the most dangerous and highly-skilled warrior professions. They suffer through weather, terrain, and enemy action, lay unmoving for days on end, and take out their targets with unerring accuracy -- proving that the deadliest weapon in any battle, anywhere in the world, is a single well-aimed shot.

Drawing on written records, coins, inscriptions and other archaeological evidence, the authors present a detailed picture of how the Roman cavalryman and his horse were equipped.

2014 Reprint of 1936 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this classic work on the subject, Keith covers the selection, use, and hand loading of revolver cartridges in various calibers. Keith covers both revolvers that have remained popular to this day, as well as many that were popular several decades ago and have since fallen into obscurity. Elmer Keith uses his wealth of experience with the sixgun to analyze and recommend the correct cartridges and calibers for various situations. This is not only a manual covering the practical use of the revolver, but is also a valuable reference for anyone interested in the history and development of the modern revolver cartridges.

This book consists of fifteen cartoons inspired by an 1866 Harper's Weekly article about the hypothetical length of the Thirty Years' War at different periods in time and extending into the future when both sides had developed the ultimate weapons to end all wars. Of course, war is inspired by the devil.

Airpower is credited with success in Afghanistan, Desert Storm, and Serbia, but in Vietnam all of America's aerial might could not defeat a vastly outnumbered Third World force on bicycles. With a panoramic sweep and shocking frankness unrivaled in the current literature, Ken Werrell, one of today's most experienced airpower historians, reveals the true extent of the technological evolution that fueled this transformation. Chasing the Silver Bullet traces in unprecedented detail the evolution of the Air Force's entire inventory since the Korean War, from the ill-fated F-105 fighter-bomber to the F-117 stealth fighter, but one of its chief contributions is its analysis of the strategies and doctrine that fashioned the hardware.
Werrell's exhaustive research and sage analysis challenge the Air Force's mantra that precision-guided munitions delivered from long-range, stealthy aircraft are America's true war heroes. Desert Storm gave us the wrong impression about airpower technology and Werrell corrects that mistake with this landmark study, rendering superficial all other books about Desert Storm and current capabilities.
Objective, even-handed, and unimpressed with the bells and whistles of new technology, Werrell understands how airpower works.

GPS Declassified examines the development of GPS from its secret, Cold War military roots to its emergence as a worldwide consumer industry. Drawing on previously unexplored documents, the authors examine how military rivalries influenced the creation of GPS and shaped public perceptions about its origin. Since the United States’ first program to launch a satellite in the late 1950s, the nation has pursued dual paths into space—one military and secret, the other scientific and public. Among the many commercial spinoffs this approach has produced, GPS arguably boasts the greatest impact on our daily lives. Told by a son of a navy insider—whose work helped lay the foundations for the system—and a science and technology journalist, the story chronicles the research and technological advances required for the development of GPS. The authors peek behind the scenes at pivotal events in GPS history. They note how the technology moved from the laboratory to the battlefield to the dashboard and the smartphone, and they raise the specter of how this technology and its surrounding industry affect public policy. Insights into how the system works and how it fits into a long history of advances in navigation tie into discussions of the myriad applications for GPS.

On December 16, 1958, a Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile became the first rocket launch from Vandenberg AFB, California. Established from the remnants of a WWII and Korean War training base named Camp Cooke, the USAF selected the location to operationally test intercontinental-range ballistic missiles over the Pacific Ocean. Over the decades, Vandenberg has seen over 1,900 launches of more than 70 varieties of rockets and missiles. This book chronicles the launches by rocket/missile, launchpad location, and payload. Many never-before-seen photographs illustrate the variety of space launch vehicles used to lift national-security satellites into orbit, as well as the operational testing of the missiles used by United States nuclear-alert forces. The launches at Vandenberg helped drive the technological innovation and deterrence that helped the US win the Cold War.